Embodiments of the invention comprise a component identification system which provides an architecture for connecting various electronic units, and managing and controlling the units and the system of which they are a part. Such devices or units may be attached to form a homogenous system called a stack. Embodiments of the invention provide a set of rules to handle such stack. The rules are controlled by the architectural component named Unit Manager. The Unit Manager uses a protocol to discover the units that are entering or leaving the system/stack. The protocol's data provides a unique way of identifying the units that belong to the system/stack. Description of embodiments of a component identification system can also be found in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/252,202, entitled “Component Identification and Management Unit,” by Vasquez et al. filed on Oct. 17, 2005, and incorporated herein by reference. Related methods of operation and computer readable media are also provided. Other systems and methods of the invention will be or become apparent to one skilled in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included with this description, be with the scope of the invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.
While there may be various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and subsequently are described in detail and should be understood not to be limiting to the particular forms disclosed, rather covering all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the embodiments and description.